BART Board votes unanimously to purchase 130 Tasers for BART Police

BART Board votes unanimously to purchase 130 Tasers for BART Police

The nine-member BART Board of Directors on Thursday voted unanimously to approve the BART Police Department's request to negotiate the purchase of 130 Tasers.

Currently the BART Police Department has 60 Tasers available for field deployment; this does not allow all sworn members to be equipped with a Taser. Law enforcement best practices indicate that it is desirable and highly recommended that an officer be provided safety equipment that he or she "owns," thereby increasing the officer's level of familiarity with, care of, and confidence in the proper use and operation of the equipment.

TASER QUICK FACTS:

130: Number of Tasers BART Police Department plans to purchase.

$814.95: Cost of each Taser with holster.

$184.95: Cost of each 4-year warranty for each Taser.

$140,755.43: Maximum amount the BART Police Department can spend on this purchase.

206: Number of sworn personnel in the BART Police Department.

296: Total number of employees in the BART Police Department.

December 2008: First time the BART Police Department began using Tasers. The initial purchase was for 60 Tasers.